The Power of Community-Driven Tourism
We are in full swing into the summer travel season with many people planning to travel both near and far. It is no surprise that the travel industry remains robust, and is continuing to grow beyond pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, travel and tourism contributed 9.9 trillion U.S. dollars to global GDP. This figure is predicted to reach an estimated $11.1 trillion in 2024, and an astounding $16 trillion by 2034 (Statista).
While many challenges lie ahead—such as overtourism, climate change, environmental degradation, and globalization of cultures—there is also opportunity and hope to forge a better path forward. In the face of these adverse impacts, the need for responsible, sustainable tourism could never be greater. Community tourism can help pave the way forward for tourism in a more sustainable, responsible, and equitable way.
Local communities are the backbone of a society, one of the most significant parts of the tourism industry, and key to destination stewardship and sustainability. Despite their importance, local communities are often neglected in the tourism industry, resulting in many negative impacts such as tourism leakage, environmental degradation, cultural appropriation, and more.
Community tourism seeks to address these negative impacts and instead work as a powerful force for change.
What is Community Tourism?
Community tourism is a sustainable tourism model in which local communities develop, own, and manage tourism experiences, allowing them to benefit from tourism directly. Community tourism usually centers rural and indigenous communities in lesser-known, lesser-visited areas that are often left off the traditional tourist map.
To ensure that community tourism is done right, it must be community-driven and community-led—meaning the local communities must have full ownership and management of the tourism experience. Local communities should play a key role in every aspect of tourism, ranging from hosting travelers to providing accommodations, meals, and cultural activities that reflect their culture, traditions, and values.
Benefits of Community Tourism
If implemented correctly, community tourism has the transformative power to uplift communities and inspire travelers as well. It can be a win-win situation.
The socio-economic impact of this type of tourism has the potential to transform the lives and overall well-being of the participants and community as a whole. For the traveler, community tourism experiences afford a deeper, more meaningful experience and connection with locals, creating lasting memories.
Here is a closer look at some of the potential benefits:
ECONOMIC
Community tourism leads to economic opportunities such as job creation, income generation, and capacity development of community entrepreneurial and leadership skills. For women and other underrepresented groups, community tourism activity may be the first time they have ever had the chance to earn income or work outside of the home.
Another benefit is that income generated through community tourism stays within the community, avoiding tourism leakage, and often being reinvested back into local education, healthcare, conservation, and infrastructure. Over time, this cycle has a ripple effect, improving the overall socio-economic well-being of the community. These benefits are key to lesser-visited destinations that have not reaped the economic benefits of traditional tourism.
EMPOWERMENT
Community tourism allows the local community to develop, manage, and run their tourism initiatives. It fosters direct participation by giving locals the power to actively manage, participate in, and benefit from tourism in their community.
This is especially important for women, who often lead community tourism experiences. The socio-economic benefits for women can be life-changing, especially in patriarchal societies where women traditionally do not work outside of the home. Through community tourism, women gain additional income, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills, as well as respect and recognition within their communities. As women become more empowered, additional income is often reinvested back into their families and communities, improving socio-economic well-being for all.
CULTURAL PRESERVATION
As globalization continues to impact the world, culture, tradition, and heritage are being lost—especially in rural communities where people often emigrate to larger cities, or even different countries, for work and educational opportunities. Community tourism works to preserve local culture, traditions, and heritage unique to its people by providing locals with employment opportunities to share their culture as unique tourism services within their communities so they don’t have to leave. By showcasing their cuisine, art, music, language, and other cultural aspects to travelers, communities can protect their cultural heritage and ensure it will be passed on to future generations.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Local communities are often stewards of their natural surroundings and land, promoting conservation efforts and responsible tourism practices that seek to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment. Simple practices such as serving local food, showcasing traditional farming techniques, and educating travelers on unique local ecosystems can promote conservation and land preservation, helping to reduce climate change.
CONNECTION
Community tourism promotes cross-cultural understanding, respect, and connection between travelers and local communities at a deeper level than conventional tourism allows. It can provide a powerful, meaningful tourism experience for both traveler and host, creating lasting memories for all.
Case Study of Successful Community Tourism: Community Homestay Network in Nepal
Nepal offers an insightful case study and model on how community tourism can work to uplift communities and create transformative, positive change. With roughly 30.5 million people (2022, World Bank), and a growing segment of Nepalis leaving rural villages to seek work, education, and opportunity in Kathmandu or abroad, the importance of community tourism has never been more important. While most international travelers head to Nepal to visit the Himalayas and surrounding regions, there is an incredible amount of diversity, culture, and promise within lesser-visited rural communities throughout Nepal. With over 142 ethnic groups and castes, each with its own unique culture, traditions, and ways of life, Nepal is a destination with a lot of potential for community tourism.
Local community homestays in Nepal are a growing subsector of the tourism industry with a lot of potential for economic impact and job creation. Community homestays offer a unique opportunity to enrich tourist experiences by allowing them to learn about local life, culture, and food. For these reasons, community homestays are emerging as a promising and unique subsegment of Nepal's tourism industry.
“Nepal with its breathtaking landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and warm hospitality has always been a sought-after destination for travelers around the world. Our nation is blessed with natural wonders like the majestic Himalayas, diverse wildlife, and many cultures. However, it is the people of Nepal who truly make this country very special.”
“We all know that the global tourism landscape is evolving, and it presents the opportunity to showcase the stunning beauty and rich cultural heritage of Nepal. Despite the immense potential of Nepal’s tourism industry, its full potential is lagging especially in comparison with neighboring countries. There is a huge opportunity to build tourism sustainably and responsibly with community tourism.”
Meet Community Homestay Network: An Exemplary Model of Successful Community Tourism
“With over three decades of experience in organizing group tours into the rural embrace of our Nepali communities, I have witnessed the transformative power of tourism. It’s not just the breathtaking landscapes, it’s about uplifting lives.” –Shiva Dhakal, Founder of Community Homestay Network.
Shiva Dhakal comes from a large, close-knit family in rural Nepal and understands the power of family, tradition, and community empowerment. He also believes strongly in the socio-economic importance of community tourism as a way to showcase the culture and beauty of lesser-known rural destinations in Nepal and use travel as a force for good. After decades of working in the tourism industry as the founder of Royal Mountain Travel, he has witnessed the profound ability of community tourism to uplift lives. As his trekking guests began to stay at local mountain teahouses (as opposed to camping in tents) and be served traditional Nepali meals, he saw the impact it made on both the locals and his guests. The concept of community homestays began to form.
It was during a visit to the ancient Newari town of Panauti to attend a family festival with Ashok Amatya, a guide from Royal Mountain Travel and a personal friend, that Shiva came up with the inspiring idea to test out community homestays as a new model of tourism. While Shiva had visited Panauti many times in the past as a tourist, this time he experienced the magical town differently by being part of the community’s celebration. It was a profound experience. Shiva realized that Panuati has a lot to offer travelers. It is close to the capital city, filled with history, beauty, and culture, yet few tourists have experienced Panauti—or more so, real Nepali life.
Shiva recommended to Ashok that he and his wife Shila receive some of their Royal Mountain Travel trekking guests at their home, in one of their spare rooms to share their culture and experience life with a local Nepali family. They began taking in guests and it was a win-win situation. Travelers loved the meaningful experience and Shila earned additional income to support the home. Other women in the community saw what Shila was doing and slowly became inspired to try for themselves.
Over time, the concept stuck and the movement grew. In 2012, ten women from the community joined forces to run the Panauti Community Homestay and in 2017 after positive feedback from both the community homestay women and the guests, Shiva launched Community Homestay Network (CHN).
CHN is a social enterprise that supports a network of 36 community homestays throughout Nepal. CHN connects travelers with communities across Nepal, providing a unique opportunity to stay with Nepali families and immerse in real Nepali life. At the same time, local host families get the opportunity to share their culture and landscapes with travelers while gaining access to a sustainable source of income through tourism.
The meaningful experiences CHN offers travelers are created to have a positive impact on Nepali communities, women, and families, as well as on the travelers themselves. Best of all, all of the homestays and experiences are created and led by women from the community. Today, there are 362 households in 36 communities, impacting the lives of over 1748 people. Travelers can view all the different homestays and experiences on the CHN website.
The Community Homestay Network Model: Why it Works
With the Community Homestay Network (CHN), all the tourism experiences in each community are community-developed and community-led. “Our mission with the Community Homestay Network started right at the beginning and is to support local communities, to increase their participation in the planning and distribution network, and to enhance the use of offerings with authentic local experiences that only they can offer. Communities are the backbone of the tourism industry in Nepal and need to be front and center in the tourism experience.” –Shiva Dhakal.
It is the women of the community known as the Community Homestay “mamas” who develop, manage, and run the programs in their communities, which provides them with not only a new source of income outside of the home but also leadership and entrepreneurial skills. For women, the CHN has been life-changing.
“In Nepal women are always on the backside, meaning working inside the house and taking care of children, cleaning, and cooking, and only the husband makes money. With the Community Homestay Network, women can earn income for the first time. We can spend money on our children’s health and education. We no longer have to ask our husband’s permission to buy something. We even have our bank accounts. It has been incredibly empowering.” –Shila Amatya, President of Panauti Community Homestay.
“The women of our community have gotten the opportunity to make progress,” says Isha Mahato, the Secretary of the Barauli Community Homestay—one of the most remote villages in the CHN network. “Before the homestay, we were afraid and embarrassed to reply when someone spoke to us,” she said tearfully while sharing her story in front of an audience of over 300 people at the Community Homestay Network’s Community Connect event this past May. “Our lives have changed and I am so incredibly grateful.”
Of the 80% of the income received through the homestay program (20% goes to CHN to cover training and other administrative fees), 20% goes into a fund that is reinvested back into community initiatives. The fund is used for English and cooking lessons for the mamas, and for other training to help preserve culture and teach women how to run a hospitality business.
Another benefit of the program is it promotes sustainable tourism by bringing travelers to less-visited, often remote destinations, easing the tourism strain on the environment and showcasing cultures and traditions that are unique to each community. Nepal has over 142 ethnic groups and castes all with their own culture, language, dress, food, and traditions. Each one is different and must be preserved, which the program is trying to do.
Impact on Travelers
Community homestays are an incredible way to connect and learn with local communities in a meaningful way. When travelers arrive at a Community Homestay, they are welcomed as special guests and feel as if they are members of the family sharing meals, conversations, and the home. During their stay, there are numerous ways to get involved in the daily lives of the host family and the locals in the community. From cooking local dishes, exploring the surroundings of the community on a hike or bicycle ride, participating in local festivals, learning local crafts, helping out with daily work, and more. There is no better way to live like a local and capture a glimpse of their daily lives than by spending a few days with a host family.
Why Community Tourism Should Be the Way of the Future
Perhaps the most critical argument for community tourism is that it puts communities and the planet first. Unlike traditional tourism, instead of extracting resources, community tourism helps sustain and protect them.
Aayusha Prasain, the CEO of Community Homestay Network summarizes it best:
"Community tourism represents a vital shift in the industry, emphasizing responsible travel, cultural immersion, and sustainable development. By prioritizing local, community-led initiatives, it offers travelers authentic experiences while directly benefiting local economies, particularly empowering women and youth. This approach addresses the negative impacts of mass tourism by involving local communities in destination development and management, ensuring they are the primary decision-makers and beneficiaries. The perpetuation of unchecked tourism development and its potential long-term consequences on emerging destinations is heightened by surficial examinations that lack meaningful local involvement and critical assessment. As an organization promoting community tourism, we are aware of the responsibilities that lie within us. We must be cautious about who bears the cost and who benefits the most. Will our efforts to promote community tourism conserve the beauty and culture that has been there for generations or vice versa? This is why community tourism provides a pathway for a more sustainable and inclusive future, safeguarding the beauty and culture of destinations for generations to come."
GLP Films’ Content Editor, Nicole Melancon, recently spent an incredible, inspiring week in Nepal with Community Homestay Network (CHN) learning about the transformative power of community tourism. Read about Nicole’s exhilarating journey mountain biking down the foothills of the Himalayas to the ancient city of Panauti where she spent two days as a guest of Shila Amatya, the pioneer of the Community Homestay Network that has spread to 36 communities throughout Nepal changing lives, including her own.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“Marketing Communication Tips for Supporting Community Tourism” by JoAnna Haugen of Rooted Storytelling.
“Protecting Biodiversity Through Community Tourism” by Planeterra.
“How Community Tourism Empowers Locals and Enhances Travel” written by Whitney Smith for Tourism Cares.
“Community Tourism: Building New Destinations and Enhancing Travel Experiences in Nepal” written by Aayusha Pasain for Inside Himalayas.